This invention relates generally to antimicrobial acrylic materials, and more particularly to acrylic materials having antimicrobial compounds or chemicals incorporated into an acrylic polymer.
Acrylic is widely used in numerous consumer products to provide a durable product having desirable product appearance, colorability and chemical resistance. The ability to produce generally transparent or translucent characteristics in acrylic makes acrylic an ideal material for many different applications and, particularly, to enhance the appearance of a product. Manufacturers use acrylic to produce products having good color finish while also providing the qualities of substantial abrasion-resistance and chemical resistance.
For example, acrylic materials are incorporated into bathtubs, showers, whirlpools, bathroom and kitchen flooring and paneling used in homes, hotels, hospitals, restaurants and other residential or commercial environments. The acrylic can be applied or formed to have varying thicknesses depending on a desired manipulability and the expected wear from abrasion or continuous exposure to water and reactive chemicals. In another example, acrylic is incorporated into panels used in automobiles and recreation vehicles. The acrylic may be molded or laminated with the panels to provide a vehicle having a high quality surface appearance and colorability. In another example, acrylic fibers are used in the textile industry to provide resilient or stretchable yarns and fabric having good colorability and durability which are in turn incorporated into clothing.
However, these acrylic based products are under constant exposure to bacteria, fungi and microbes that exist in their respective environments. For example, acrylic based flooring or paneling as well as acrylic based coatings used on flooring are particularly susceptible to bacterial and microbial development. People and moveable objects, which are carriers of bacteria and microbes, heavily traffic the floorings. This results in a continual deposit of such bacteria and microbes on the floorings and consequently develops a xe2x80x9cbio-burdenxe2x80x9d or a continuous resource for contamination. Additionally, bathrooms and kitchens, whether incorporated in domestic settings or commercial settings, are environments where contaminated parts of the body or contaminated utensils are washed. Unfortunately, residual contamination typically remains on the flooring or paneling to repopulate. In another example, clothing containing acrylic based yarns or fibers provide harbors for odor-causing bacteria and fungi transferred from a wearer""s body.
Each of these environments are a constant source of bacterial, fungal or microbial contamination. Not only are these acrylic based products contaminated by the bacteria, fungi and microbes in these environments, but these environments also aid in the proliferation of the bacteria, fungi and microbes. The presence of humidity or moisture in these environments is generally conducive to the growth of bacteria, fungi and microbes. These bacteria, fungi and microbes can grow and multiply on the surfaces of the acrylic based products, and significant levels of contamination can build over time.
To counter the presence and growth of microbes on the surface of acrylic based products, a disinfectant is typically applied to the surface, such as by washing, spraying or wiping. Unfortunately, the applied disinfectant provides only temporary removal of the microbes on the surface because, as previously mentioned, the associated environment is a resource that rebuilds a bio-burden and provides further contamination. Reapplication of the disinfectant is costly, time consuming, non-durable and only temporarily counters the presence and growth of microbes.
Further, non-thorough cleaning of the acrylic based products leaves residual contamination as previously mentioned. Without attention to detail when cleaning the acrylic based products, residual contamination is more likely to exist. Additionally, by applying the disinfectant or other biocide to the surface of the acrylic based product, a residual of the disinfectant or biocide enters the environment and may negatively impact the environment.
What is needed is an antimicrobial agent that can be incorporated, or incorporated, into an acrylic material at the time of manufacture and that survives incorporation. In particular, what is needed is an antimicrobial agent incorporated into an acrylic material that is free from toxic effect and is durable over the lifespan of the acrylic material. Further needed is an acrylic material having an antimicrobial agent incorporated into an acrylic polymer which will migrate to the surface of the acrylic material as needed to provide appropriate protection. Further needed is an acrylic material having antimicrobial compounds or chemicals incorporated in the material and formed by extruding, sheet thermoforming, calendaring, casting, coating, brushing, spraying, pouring or other conventional acrylic forming techniques, that exhibits controlled migration of the antimicrobial compounds or chemicals through the material. Further needed is an acrylic material having antimicrobial compounds or chemicals incorporated in the polymeric material that exhibits substantially the same physical characteristics as an acrylic polymeric material that does not have antimicrobial compounds or chemicals incorporated therein.
The present invention is an acrylic material having antimicrobial characteristics that inhibits bacterial, fungal, microbial and other pathogen or non-pathogen growth. Antimicrobial agents, compounds or chemicals are incorporated into the acrylic material during manufacture. The term xe2x80x9cincorporatexe2x80x9d as used herein in relation to antimicrobial agents or additives, is defined to mean residing in the interstitial spaces of the polymeric matrix of the polymeric material.
The antimicrobial agent is incorporated into the amorphous zones of the acrylic polymer at the time of manufacture of an acrylic based product and survives incorporation. The incorporated antimicrobial agent is free from toxic effect and is durable over the lifespan of the acrylic material. The antimicrobial agent that is incorporated into the acrylic polymer migrates to the surface of the acrylic material as needed to provide appropriate protection. The acrylic material, that exhibits controlled migration of the antimicrobial compounds or chemicals through the material, may be processed by extruding, sheet thermoforming, calendaring, casting, coating, brushing, spraying, pouring or other conventional acrylic forming techniques. The acrylic material exhibits substantially the same physical characteristics as an acrylic material that does not have antimicrobial compounds or chemicals incorporated therein.
The acrylic material include acrylonitriles, such as polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polymethacrylonitrile (PMAN) and acrylonitrile-methylmethacrylate (P[AN-MMA]), polyacrylic acid (PAA), polymethacrylic acid (PMAA), polymethylacrylate (PMA), polyethylacrylate (PEA), polybutylacrylate (PBA) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA).
In one embodiment of the present invention, the acrylic material, having antimicrobial compounds or chemicals incorporated in the same and that exhibits controlled migration of the antimicrobial compounds to the surface of the material, is formed into a sheet by calendaring or sheet thermoforming. In another embodiment of the present invention, the acrylic material, having antimicrobial compounds incorporated in the same and that exhibits controlled migration of the antimicrobial compounds to the surface of the material, is formed into fibers, such as textile fibers by extrusion or spinning processing techniques. In another embodiment of the present invention, the acrylic material having antimicrobial compounds or chemicals incorporated in the same and that exhibits controlled migration of the antimicrobial compounds to the surface of the material, is poured into a cast form and an acrylic product is derived from the cast form. In another embodiment of the present invention, the acrylic material, having antimicrobial compounds or chemicals incorporated in the same and that exhibits controlled migration of the antimicrobial compounds to the surface of the material, is applied to flooring, such as by coating, pouring, spraying or brushing.
When forming an acrylic product by extrusion techniques, a solubilizing agent carrier system, such as a surfactant, is used to incorporate the antimicrobial additive into the amorphous zones of the molecular structure of the acrylic. When preparing acrylic based fibers, cast forms or floorings, the antimicrobial additive does not require the solubilizing agent carrier system to incorporate the antimicrobial additive into the amorphous zones of the molecular structure of the acrylic. The levels of antimicrobial additive in the acrylic material, incorporated in the manner above, result in a substantive controlled migration from the amorphous zones of the molecular structure of the acrylic to the surface of the acrylic material, until a point of equilibrium is reached. As the surface of the acrylic material is abraded during use and this equilibrium is disrupted, additional migration is stimulated, until equilibrium is again reached. Products formed with the acrylic material include, without limitation, sinks, wash basins, automotive panels, architectural panels, fitness products, swimming pools, seamless flooring, outdoor signs, skylights, whirlpools, modular tubs, indoor and outdoor spas, boat decks, boat hulls, boat interiors, automobile panels, textile fibers and coatings.
The acrylic material is formed by selecting an antimicrobial agent to correspond to the acrylic, determining whether a solubilizing agent carrier system is required, combining any required solubilizing agent carrier system with the selected antimicrobial agent, incorporating the antimicrobial agent into an acrylic batch, and forming a desired acrylic based product
The principal object of the invention is to provide an acrylic material having antimicrobial protection incorporated in the acrylic material.
Another, more particular object of the invention is to provide an acrylic material having antimicrobial protection incorporated in the acrylic material in a cost-effective, non-toxic and durable way.
Another object of the invention is to provide an acrylic material having antimicrobial compounds or chemicals incorporated in the acrylic material that is formable into a sheet, a fiber or a cast and that exhibits a controlled migration of the antimicrobial compounds or chemicals throughout the acrylic polymer.
Another object of the invention is to provide an acrylic material having antimicrobial compounds or chemicals incorporated in the acrylic material that has physical, mechanical and surface appearance characteristics similar to acrylic materials that do not have antimicrobial compounds or chemicals incorporated in the acrylic material.
Another, more particular, object of the invention isto provide an acrylic material having antimicrobial compounds or chemicals incorporated in the acrylic material that has a chemical resistance, tensile strength and water absorption resistance similar to acrylic materials that do not have antimicrobial compounds or chemicals incorporated in the acrylic material.
Another object of the invention is to provide a product formed from an acrylic material having an antimicrobial agent which is insoluble in water, thereby preventing any leaching of the agent during use of the product.
Another object of the invention is to provide an acrylic material in which an antimicrobial agent can migrate on demand from within the material to the surface of the material if some of the agent is removed from the surface of the acrylic material by abrasion.
Another, more particular, object of the invention is to provide an acrylic material having an antimicrobial compound incorporated in the acrylic material that does not exhibit sublimation of the antimicrobial compound at ambient temperatures.